xxxxThey say there is always sunshine after rain... and laughter after pain, and I can vouch for this to be true. In 1997 I lost the use of my sole vehicle as a downside of doing community work (the careless destruction of my S-10 pickup is a story for another time) and pretty much was left without a vehicle for over a year.
xxxxSome good things amounted from having to ride the Atlanta Marta Train System as I met bunches of bright people with various talents. And the daily 6 mile bike ride was good for the waist line let me tell you. Although I easily could have taken out a loan to get some wheels I decided my next car would be a vintage station wagon... come hell or high water (the cold rainy days on the bike were tough and I'm thankful they were all too few).

xxxxEvery time I'd get a little pile of money saved there would either be no wagons available to buy or I'd invest the monies into computers or even better I'd invest the cash into the many talented local artists, writers, and web makers. One day my utility man told me his teen (seemed to be constantly in trouble with the law) was a artist and he showed me his drawings... though very negative, and even to the point of evil, his work was quite good. More monies spent to have this kid draw me some cows and chickens... man-o-man can this kid draw cows..!

xx
(Which one has the "Used-Car Salesman" personality?)

xxxxAt about the one year mark I was getting itchy for a vehicle that would get me from Atlanta to Maryland for the Christmas holidays. With a gift of $1,500... yes a gift, and $1,000 I'd saved up I gave up on the vintage wagon and went for something economical. Bought a used GEO Metro Convertible for a mere $2,400

xxxxNow that I had wheels it's off to my favorite jaunt (not the horse races either) as I'm at "Crazy Mike's Junk Store" I'm telling Mike how much I've sorely missed visiting all my favorite antique and junk shops as I'd been with out a car for over a year. I mentioned, actually I made it a point to mention that I thought that my "investing in the local artists/writers" was more important than owning a car... then... then I mentioned how I'd plum gave up on wanting a old station wagon. You won't believe what happens next..!

xxxxCrazy Mike says "I've got an old wagon... I'll sell it to you for $100". I had to do a double take and ask him to repeat. It's a mid 60's he says... and I think to myself I want FINS..! I replied that it's probably too new and won't have any decent fins. Being rush hour I told him I would go look at it another day as the traffic going intown was bad. I hopped in my new GEO Convertible... pondered... and headed towards the car:)

xxxxThe car had fins, I had a wagon, I had two cars in one week..! God has his own time table that works in mysterious ways..!